PREP BASKETBALL RANKINGS: River Valley has wings

The margin for error is about to become very slim.

With nonleague games about to end, the battle for a playoff spot begins in the next two weeks as conference play begins.

Some local teams look to defend their crowns as others are primed to take over the top spot.

In our latest rankings there's been a change at the top for both boys and girls with a good deal of shuffling in the girls' top five.

January is about to heat up.

BOYS

GAME TO WATCH: Woodland at River Valley, Thursday, 7 p.m.

PRIME-TIME PERFORMER: River Valley senior Manik Thiara — The Falcons are hot right now and Thiara is one of the main reasons why.

He's been the team's leading scorer in three of the Falcons' previous four victories, including a 26-point effort against Laguna Creek last Thursday.

RANKINGS

1. River Valley Falcons (12-3)

Catching up: Since our last rankings two weeks ago, the Falcons have caught fire as they are currently riding a seven-game winning streak.

R.V.'s last four victories were over Galt, Rio Linda, Laguna Creek and Bear River.

Coming up next: The Falcons open Tri-County Conference action on Thursday at home against Woodland.

Breakdown: Since losing to Yuba City in the Mel Good Holiday Classic championship in December, River Valley has been unstoppable.

Last week, the Falcons came away with close victories at home over Rio Linda and Laguna Creek.

The Sacramento Bee has R.V. at No. 19 in its latest poll and the Falcons should stay there with their current resume.

2. Lindhurst Blazers (11-5)

Catching up: Another tournament championship game appearance, another heartbreaking loss for the Blazers.

Lindhurst has made it to the title game in all four of its tournaments this season, yet lost on a buzzer-beater to Cosumnes Oaks at the Lindhurst Blazer Holiday Classic on Dec. 30.

That was Lindhurst's second one-point loss to the Wolfpack this season.

The Blazers defeated Wheatland and Fortuna in the first two days of tournament play and defeated Mira Loma this past Friday.

Coming up next: Lindhurst goes to Live Oak on Wednesday before Golden Empire League play begins on Jan. 17.

Breakdown: A tough loss to the Wolfpack drops Lindhurst out of the top spot for the first time this season.

Like R.V., the Blazers are gaining recognition from the Bee, garnering the No. 20 spot in the publication's rankings.

Wednesday's matchup with the Lions will be the final test before GEL play gets under way in Citrus Heights with the Mavericks.

Lindhurst is the defending GEL champion, though it didn't come easy. Last season, the average margin of victory in the Blazers' 10 GEL contests was a mere 3 points.

3. Yuba City Honkers (8-8)

Catching up: The last two weeks have not been kind to the Honkers.

Losers of five straight, Yuba City is stumbling into Thursday's TCC opener at Natomas.

The Honkers went 1-2 at the Jamie Angley Hornet Classic in Redding two weeks ago with losses to Enterprise and Foothill (Palo Cedro).

Though respectable, their last three losses were to St. Mary's (Stockton), Oak Ridge and Nevada Union.

Coming up next: The Honkers have won 34 consecutive TCC contests and potential No. 35 against Natomas would be huge to snap the team's current skid.

Breakdown: Senior Matt Hayes is averaging a double-double and more than 20 points per game. Junior Gurpreet Singh has been a nice complement to Hayes at shooting guard with 10 points per game.

With Hayes drawing double-teams and being targeted it's imperative that the rest of the lineup continue to step up.

4. Faith Chr. Lions (12-2, 1-0)

Catching up: The Lions suffered their first setback of the season, a 30-point loss to Monte Vista Christian at the Don and Martha Price Christmas Classic on Dec. 28.

Faith opened Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League play last week with a lopsided victory over Lutheran, though lost on Friday night at home in a nonleague game with Delta.

Coming up next: Faith faced its first bit of adversity over the past two weeks.

This week, SMAL play heats up with home games against Buckingham Charter and Wilton Christian, two programs with losing records.

On paper, the Lions shouldn't have too much trouble until a Jan. 24 date with perennial power Valley Christian.

5. Gridley Bulldogs (7-9)

Catching up: At the Dennis Burnum Classic in Oroville over the weekend, Gridley went 2-1 with victories over Paradise and Lassen. The Bulldogs' lone loss was to Chico (12-2).

Two weeks ago at the Lindhurst tournament, Gridley picked up a big win over Marysville and had losses against Cosumnes Oaks and Rio Linda.

Coming up next: The Bulldogs have the week off before facing off with defending Butte View League champ Orland in the BVL opener on Jan. 17.

Breakdown: Gridley cracks the top 5 in large part due to its strength of schedule.

The Bulldogs have a losing record, but all nine of their losses are to schools with larger enrollment figures.

Considering the teams they faced at Lindhurst and their own tournament, the Bulldogs deserve recognition in the rankings.

On the cusp: Live Oak (7-4) — The Lions took second at the Love of the Game Invitational in East Nicolaus on Saturday, with their only loss coming to Elliot Christian (13-4).

GIRLS

GAME TO WATCH: East Nicolaus at Colusa, today, 6 p.m.

PRIME-TIME PERFORMER: River Valley junior Aleqse Hawkins — Hawkins is the Falcons' leading scorer and put up double-digit scoring numbers in five of her last six games.

She's averaged 12 points per game in the last two weeks, highlighted by a 19-point effort against River City on Dec. 30.

RANKINGS

1. River Valley Falcons (12-4)

Catching up: River Valley has won nine of its last 10 games.

The Falcons ended 2011 at the Lincoln tournament with a 2-1 record, their only loss coming to River City (16-1).

Last week, R.V. swept through its competition with victories over East Nicolaus, Lincoln and Roseville.

Coming up next: The Falcons close out nonconference play at Mira Loma today and open TCC action at Woodland on Friday night.

Breakdown: Their current hot streak propelled the Falcons up three spots to No. 1 this week.

R.V. has a good shot at making noise in the TCC yet the real challenge lies against reigning TCC champ Inderkum (10-4).

2. Colusa RedHawks (10-2)

Catching up: Last week the RedHawks defeated Biggs and Esparto in nonleague games.

Coming up next: Colusa hosts former No. 1 team East Nicolaus today and travels to face Gridley on Wednesday.

The RedHawks will open Sacramento Valley League play on Thursday night at home against Pierce.

Breakdown: Colusa stayed on top of the rankings for the majority of last year but will have to make a strong case to overtake R.V.

Senior Katie Mobley is making an early case for Player of the Year honors as she's averaging a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds per game.

3. East Nicolaus (14-1)

Catching up: East Nic suffered its only loss of the season with a 41-28 defeat at home to R.V. last week.

The Spartans responded by going 3-0 at their own Love of the Game Invitational tallying wins over Live Oak, Pierce and Maxwell.

Coming up next: After today's aforementioned game with Colusa, the Spartans will travel to Esparto on Thursday.

League play begins on Jan. 17 at Portola.

Breakdown: The only blemish on East Nic's record is last week's 13-point loss to River Valley, granted one of East Nicolaus' top players, senior Denise Kendrick, was still on vacation.

The Spartans can shoot back up the rankings with a victory over Colusa tonight, which kicks off a streak of four consecutive road games.

4. Live Oak Lions (10-4)

Catching up: Live Oak routed Lindhurst on the road Monday night and finished 2-1 at the Love of the Game Invitational with its only loss coming to East Nicolaus in the title game.

Coming up next: The Lions have the rest of the week off. SVL play tips off on Jan. 17 at Willows, the co-champion of the SVL with Colusa last season.

Breakdown: A nearly month-long break caught up to the Lions in the championship game of the Love of the Game Invitational where they fell 31-29 to East Nicolaus.

L.O. responded with a lopsided win over Lindhurst on Monday night. The Lions began the tournament strong with wins over Maxwell and Pierce.

They open the SVL portion of their schedule with back-to-back road games at Willows and Trinity next week.

5. Marysville Indians (8-6)

Catching up: Marysville's last two games were close losses to Oakmont and Lincoln.

Coming up next: The Indians will close out nonleague play with two local road games at Sutter today and at Biggs on Wednesday.

Breakdown: Marysville hopes to snap a three-game losing streak before GEL action begins on Jan. 18 against Capital Christian.

The Indians will face good challenges against Sutter and Biggs.

On the cusp: Biggs (9-5) — Despite their school's smaller enrollment size, the Wolverines have hung with, and in some cases defeated, much larger schools this season, including a 43-41 victory Monday night over Sutter.